JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has opened the opportunity for the domestic absorption obligation of coal commodities or Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) to increase in 2026.
"In terms of presentation, DMO will definitely go up," Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Yuliot Tanjung told the media at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Building, Friday, February 6.
Yuliot said that the increase in coal DMO is aimed at protecting the interests of the industry in the country, including for the needs of power plants owned by PT PLN (Persero).
In fact, he continued, the increase in DMO from last year's only 23 to 24 percent was set in conjunction with the reduction in coal production in the 2026 Work Plan and Budget (RKAB).
According to him, the government does not rule out the possibility that the coal DMO in 2026 could exceed 30 percent or according to the proposal submitted by the House of Representatives (DPR).
"Yes, we pay attention (to the DPR proposal), we count first. The range may be more than 30 percent," he said.
As for coal production, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources estimates that the total that will be included in the RKAB will exceed 600 million tons, lower than the realization of coal production in 2025 in the range of 800 million tons.
Yuliot also said that the total coal production approved in the RKAB 2025 was 1.2 billion tons. However, the realization is far from that figure.
"So the impact of excess RKAB is that the price also decreases significantly," he explained.
Due to the plummeting coal prices, the government also conducted an in-depth evaluation and calculation of domestic needs, especially for primary energy.
"So based on the calculations from the Director General of Mineral and Coal and also this is based on the request from PLN, and also the domestic industry, so the estimate is around more than 600 million tons per year. The condition is like that," he continued.
Yuliot also emphasized that there was an opportunity for companies to propose changes to the RKAB. The revision, he explained, would be considered by the government if there was an increase in demand.
In principle, the government's policy to increase DMO and cut production is inseparable from efforts to maintain the sustainability of the coal mining industry.
"The principle is that the resources we have must be sustainable. This is not just for today's needs, but we must pass it on to our grandchildren in the future," said Yuliot.
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